John Henning Schumannhttp://kmuw.org
enhttp://kmuw.org/feeds/17018/rss.xmlPruning Back Prescriptions For Better Healthhttp://kmuw.org/post/pruning-back-prescriptions-better-health
If you follow health news, by now you may have heard about a federally funded study that was <a href="http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/press-releases/2015/landmark-nih-study-shows-intensive-blood-pressure-management-may-save-lives" target="_blank">stopped early</a> because of impressive evidence that aggressively lowering blood pressure saves lives.<p>For more than half a century we've known that controlling blood pressure (<a href="http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/AboutHighBloodPressure/Understanding-Blood-Pressure-Readings_UCM_301764_Article.jsp">getting the numbers</aSun, 27 Sep 2015 15:40:00 +0000John Henning Schumann57277 at http://kmuw.orgPruning Back Prescriptions For Better HealthNo Shame, No Euphemism: Suicide Isn't A Natural Cause Of Deathhttp://kmuw.org/post/no-shame-no-euphemism-suicide-isnt-natural-cause-death
Beware the mention of natural causes, as in my mother's obituary:<p><blockquote><p>"Norita Wyse Berman, a writer, stockbroker and artist ... died at home Friday of natural causes. She was 60."<p></blockquote><p>Sixty-year-olds don't die of natural causes anymore. The truth was too hard to admit.<p>Fifteen years on, I'm ashamed of my family's shame. Those attending her funeral and paying shiva calls knew the truth anyway. People talk.<p>One of the many ironies of dying young is that my mother was a true believer in modern medicine.Sat, 01 Aug 2015 11:03:00 +0000John Henning Schumann54714 at http://kmuw.orgNo Shame, No Euphemism: Suicide Isn't A Natural Cause Of DeathWhat Could Go Wrong When Doctors Treat Their Own Kids?http://kmuw.org/post/what-could-go-wrong-when-doctors-treat-their-own-kids
Famed doctor and medical educator William Osler once said, "A physician who treats himself has a fool for a patient."<p>What, I wonder, does that say about us doctors who treat our own kids?<p>This past winter, my daughter got the flu. She was miserable: daily fevers, achiness, sore throat, stuffy head and nausea with a total loss of appetite.<p>We didn't run a flu test on her, which you can do with a quick nasal swab at a doctor's office. Since my wife and I are both docs, we were comfortable that her symptoms fit the diagnosis.<p>Our feeling was that the illness would run its course.Sun, 12 Apr 2015 12:03:00 +0000John Henning Schumann49577 at http://kmuw.orgWhat Could Go Wrong When Doctors Treat Their Own Kids?When A Patient Says 'Everything's Fine,' A Doctor Should Be Wary http://kmuw.org/post/when-patient-says-everythings-fine-doctor-should-be-wary
Oscar buzz surrounds Julianne Moore for her role as Alice Howland in the film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrXrZ5iiR0o"><em>Still Alice</em></a><em>.</em> Howland is a linguistics professor who develops early-onset Alzheimer's, a cruel irony for a character who makes her living with her brain.<p>Howland's awareness of her fate makes her decline all the more painful to watch.<p>Often, though, patients <em>and</em> their doctors can be slow to recognize <a href="http://www.alz.org/what-is-dementia.asp">dementia</a>, which most often progresses gradually.<p>Patients can be all over thSun, 15 Feb 2015 10:45:00 +0000John Henning Schumann47016 at http://kmuw.orgWhen A Patient Says 'Everything's Fine,' A Doctor Should Be Wary Wonder Abides, Even For A Skeptical Doctor http://kmuw.org/post/wonder-abides-even-skeptical-doctor
The holidays are here, bringing joy and, for some, wistful feelings.<p>Doctors are no different. Even for a profession that prides itself on scientific proof, the long nights of December afford ample opportunity for reflection and even doubt.<p>As we take stock of what we've accomplished and where we've failed to measure up, I find my scowling mask of medical skepticism falling away. I have to admit that there is so much wonder and mystery that science and medicine still can't explain.<p>Take Evelyn.Sun, 28 Dec 2014 10:36:00 +0000John Henning Schumann44763 at http://kmuw.orgWonder Abides, Even For A Skeptical Doctor If Slow Is Good For Food, Why Not Medicine?http://kmuw.org/post/if-slow-good-food-why-not-medicine
Maybe you've heard about the slow food movement. Maybe you're a devotee.<p>The idea is that cooking, nutrition and eating should be intentional, mindful and substantive. Avoid fast food and highly processed grub. For the slow food set, the process is as important as the product.<p>Now I'm seeing a medical version of slow food.Sun, 07 Dec 2014 10:20:00 +0000John Henning Schumann43851 at http://kmuw.orgIf Slow Is Good For Food, Why Not Medicine?What A Brush With SARS Taught A Doctor About Ebolahttp://kmuw.org/post/what-brush-sars-taught-doctor-about-ebola
Back in 2003 I was a junior doctor working at a Chicago teaching hospital.<p>As one of the newer docs, my daily appointment schedule had lots of openings.Thu, 30 Oct 2014 18:53:00 +0000John Henning Schumann42230 at http://kmuw.orgWhat A Brush With SARS Taught A Doctor About EbolaBotched Execution Leads Doctor To Review His Principleshttp://kmuw.org/post/botched-execution-leads-doctor-review-his-principles
Executions in this country often draw controversy. But when the <a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/execution-botched-before-inmate-dies-of-heart-attack-second-execution/article_80cc060a-cff2-11e3-967c-0017a43b2370.html" target="_blank">headlines</a> about them include words like botched or bungled, the debate about capital punishment enters new territory.<p>In Oklahoma, where I practice medicine, Clayton Lockett was convicted of murdering Stephanie Nieman, who had just graduated from high school, in 1999.Wed, 30 Apr 2014 21:35:00 +0000John Henning Schumann33807 at http://kmuw.orgBotched Execution Leads Doctor To Review His Principles5 Simple Habits Can Help Doctors Connect With Patientshttp://kmuw.org/post/5-simple-habits-can-help-doctors-connect-patients
I pulled back the curtain, ready to meet the next patient on my hospital rounds.<p>"Why are you standing there?" she asked me. "Come, have a seat, let's talk."<p>Lenore could have been my grandmother. She was 77 years old, and all of 93 pounds. What she lacked in girth, she more than made up for in chutzpah. She was one of the patients from intern year who I'll never forget.<p>After four years of medical school, I could recite biochemical pathways, genetic mutations and the ways all sorts of drugs work. But all the cramming suppressed most of my common sense.Sat, 11 Jan 2014 18:52:00 +0000John Henning Schumann28783 at http://kmuw.org5 Simple Habits Can Help Doctors Connect With PatientsFor 2 Young Doctors, Working On Christmas Was A Privilegehttp://kmuw.org/post/two-young-doctors-working-christmas-was-privilege
December is supposed to be the time of year filled with family gatherings and holiday good cheer. For medical residents, quite the opposite is true.<p>There are no school breaks during residency. Being a medical resident is a real job, and a stressful one at that.Sun, 22 Dec 2013 11:10:00 +0000John Henning Schumann27970 at http://kmuw.orgFor 2 Young Doctors, Working On Christmas Was A Privilege